The first week back on the course has been busy from day one. The project brief surprised me a lot as for the User Experience designers, we have been challenged to approach an external organisation and pitch our services to them. The end goal is to create a responsive website that is user-friendly.
“Responsive website for an existing organisation e.g. business or charity.” (NUA, 2018)
I had no inspiration for the first couple of days and spent my time in class hoping for that ‘eureka’ moment. The only thing I was sure of was that I wanted to help a charity who works in some sort of nature preservation. I want to feel like I am investing time and effort into a cause that I care about as I feel this project is a perfect time to do so. I look to take full advantage of the luxury of being able to choose who we work with.
For our first part of research-based learning, we were introduced to creative research methods. Examples of these include a (digital) scrapbook and (digital) mood board. Our task was to create a digital mood board so I based mine on the theme of plastic waste in the seas. I recently finished watching Blue Planet 2 and it left a lasting impression. I am now trying to reduce my plastic waste and my awareness of the importance of action towards climate change is growing daily.
Following this activity, we looked into scientific research methods and discovered the importance of statistical data.
“Application of scientific method to the investigation of relationships among natural phenomenon, or to solve a medical or technical problem” (Anon, 2018)
We discussed standard practice for applying scientific methodology which is:
Define a problem > Accumulate relevant data > Formulate a hypothesis > Conduct an experiment according to said hypothesis > Interpret results > Conclude.
We are to follow this every time we work on a project to keep to scientific standards in the industry. Because of our course being a mix of art and science, we are required to be creative and think outside the box but always make sure to back up these theories with scientific practice. This sparks the interesting points of whether UX is a quasi-science.
Quasi definition: “used to show that something is almost, but not completely, the thing described.” (Cambridge University Press)
Personally, I think it is because it only takes into consideration scientific principles and testing methods. There is science behind the scenes but the work being carried out day-to-day is creative and encourages incorporating strong design knowledge.
As an introduction to accumulating scientific research, we were asked to find a statistic that relates directly to our project. I chose to include the above graph that displays “The number of smartphone users worldwide from 2014 to 2020.” From this graph, we can see that the number of smartphone users has only been increasing since 2014 and this gives me full confidence to believe that these predictions for the coming years are correct. This greatly highlights the importance of making web-based projects fully responsive as more and more people will be open to viewing it on their phone whilst out and about rather than waiting until they have access to a desktop computer or laptop. This is especially important when considering web traffic and the amount of interaction the site gets from target audiences such as younger generations who are generally more tech-savvy.
Tuesday was also an exciting day because Terika from Foolproof UX came to visit and provided us with an extremely useful insight into what she does as a Principal Consultant. Coming from an academic background she is very used to reading and doing research into subjects so her role in the company differs slightly from my interests. Nonetheless, she was really engaging, answered all our question to the best of her ability and gave us some very handy tips and tricks into how we can progress in the UX industry. It was so nice to speak to a woman in the industry as well because being the only girl in my year group can be daunting sometimes as I feel like I have to prove my self-worth more to make sure people know I’m serious about doing well. In the workplace, I’m sure there’s a lot more recognition for women in the science fields but I feel it is natural and OK to have my doubts.
On Wednesday I knuckled down and really looked into the charity I wanted to support and help. By doing so I found The Greenhouse Trust. They are a charity organisation in Norwich who tackle the challenges of climate change through promoting artwork. I gave them a ring and set up a meeting that afternoon. Tigger, the owner, was very excited to meet me and see what services I had to offer. He has a love for fusing art and science as well so it was reasonably easy to establish a grounding, professional relationship. I was able to explain to him more about my course and as he is an Art School graduate himself, he was more than happy to listen to what I had to say. When we got further into the meeting I started to steer my questioning towards the research structure Terika had provided us to ensure I had as much information as possible. It was difficult to take notes however as there was not enough space on the desk so in the coming days I hope to send over a ‘reverse requirements statement’ where I outline what I would like to work on with his blessing.
We finished our research learning by looking into professional practice.
“Professional Practice is where a student is require to extend knowledge and skills within a practical environment.” (Curtin University, 2017)
There are several ways we discussed in which to conduct professional practice research:
- Review companies blogs/social media presence
- Attend conferences (Find the right one!)
- Networking (LinkedIn, meet people at a conference, visiting lecturers)
- Meet-ups (Nordev, Hot Sauce, Norfolk Ind Games, Cambridge/Norfolk)
- Sign up for company newsletters, e-mails and promotions
- Personal blogs
- Industry visits/shadowing opportunities
To build on our knowledge of this I chose a trade journal that I found interesting by Brian Chesky, Co-Founder and CEO of Airbnb. He hosts his blog on a site called Medium, a blogging site for professionals. His entries are a nice mix of personal views on subjects and links directly to his work in the industry. Two of my favourite quotes are:
“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.”
“You are a designer. You live in other people’s worlds because they designed that world for you, but those people were no smarter than you. It is your time to design the world you live in.”
I love these quotes because they really emphasise the link between logical and creative thinking. The first point about logic being able to get you from A to Z is valid and I completely agree, especially when working in a scientific environment. However, I am a very imaginative person and like to think outside the box. Sometimes, admittedly, I do think too far outside the box and needs to reign my ideas in but it’s so important when working in the creative industry to be unique and have new ideas.